In
the few years she’s worked on radio, Omotunde Adebowale Davies,
popularly known as Lolo 1 of Wazobia FM, has become one of the most
celebrated On Air Personalities (OAP) on Nigerian airwaves.
A Law graduate of the Lagos State
University, Lolo 1, who practiced for 3 years before dropping her
degree to chase her passion for entertainment. chats about her future
plans for television, music, and movies.
Why did you go into radio?
Radio is fun. It’s a medium unlike
television, where people don’t need to see your face. These days, the
reach that radio has is a lot wider than it has ever had, so I think
radio is just good for me.
Being that you studied Law, how did you make the decision to switch to radio?
I [made] a career change because I
wanted to do something that I am passionate about. It wasn’t just
radio. Speaking and entertaining people has been something I have done
all my life. So when I had done all the things I was supposed to do;
like go to school, do this and that, I just thought it was time for me
to do what I’m really passionate about. That’s how I switched to radio.
I started with Radio Nigeria, took time off, and now Wazobia FM is all
I have been doing since 2008.
Recently you have done a little bit of television too, which is more fun for you?
I enjoy what I’m doing now, but
television is the next step for me. Both of them have the same appeal
for me. They both have a wide reach, the only thing is, one is visual
[while] the other is not. These days, you can’t even say radio is no
longer visual because most of our stations can now be streamed online.
You can now watch us like you’re watching TV.
What else do you do?
Music is my next level right now. I’m
working on a couple of singles. I had one late last year and another
early this year. I’m also working on some others. I was doing music
long before radio and it’s been my very first love, so I want to find a
way to rediscover me and music.
A lot of people have said that Nigerian music these days has depreciated in quality; do you agree?
I do. Nigerians music is growing, but
our growth is kind of stunted because our videos are getting better but
our lyrics and sound [are] not changing. That is the problem I have.
When somebody brings a beat that is hot, nobody researches any longer
or does anything new, they just take the same beat and sing a different
song on it. At the end of the day, it’s killing our creativity. With
the music now, the beat never changes, even the lyrics are getting more
rubbish every day. Everybody has been doing Azonto for over a year and
I don’t see it going away just yet. That’s one of the problems I have
with today’s musicians. The good thing is that we still have artists
like Bez, Asa, Ice Prince and M.I and a few others that are very
creative.
Radio personalities and DJs are
sometimes accused of being partially responsible for this decadence
because they promote this dance/sing-along trend. What’s your opinion?
Somebody goes into the studio and
records a song. He believes he has put out something that is good.
Sometimes, what you might think is good music may not be so for another
person. Like ‘Apala’ music might be rubbish to some people, but
I know people that love it. So that’s why you cannot just close your
eyes to some of them. You might have a problem with it but the people
are dancing Azonto so what do you want to do about it? If you don’t
play an artist’s song, they start to feel you are victimizing them, and
that you are not helping them grow. So sometimes our hands are tied
[and we] just give them a chance. When the song is not making it then
we drop it. So I can’t even blame OAPs, we throw away more than we play
for you. Personally, there are so many CD’s that we can’t even play at
all, yet you must still give some of them an opportunity to at least
be heard.
So what would you say are some of the down sides of being a popular radio personality?
You have to be there for everybody,
show up for everybody’s show or events. When you have to go for events,
you just have to represent because everybody expects you to. Sometimes
it can be really stressful for us women. I’ll speak for myself as a
female OAP. For a guy, you just wear your jeans, but for a woman, you
have make-up, wardrobe, hair, shoes, bags and jewellery, and if we
don’t represent, it is still the people that will crucify you. The
pressure is a lot, that’s why you see a lot of people begin to try and
live above their means because they just want to keep up. Sometimes I
just want to wear ‘iro and buba’ and go my way and sometimes I just
don’t want to wear make-up.
With the tasking nature of your job, how do you find time for the family?
I live at home so that’s the only way I
find time for them. I prioritize and organize myself. My hubby is very
understanding so we work things out. If I’m not going to be around, he
is around, so that’s why you don’t see him at all events. He only goes
with me to events when he knows that I won’t be there for a long time.
I have a working system and that’s what works perfectly for me.
What was the attraction to your husband?
My husband is my best friend, he’s a
very gentle person. It is his gentility that appealed to me. I’m very
bubbly and full of life as a person but he is calm so I just look at
him and I draw my inspiration from that. He is calm, very loving and
those are the things that stand him out from other people.
Do you have a personal style or you just rock anything that comes to mind?
I just want anything that fits. I’m a
plus-size lady but it doesn’t mean that I just appear anyhow. I like
pencil skirts and anything that just holds me together. Most of the
time you see me rocking dresses. I don’t really like skirts and blouses
that much. I’ll just say my fashion is very comfortable. I know fashion
can be a pain for us women sometimes, but there are degrees of pain
that just makes mine not too overwhelming, but I put on heels. There’s
nothing I can do about it; I love heels. There are some shoes you wear
[and] you’ll cry throughout, but you’ll still wear it so that’s just it
about fashion for me. I like bright colors but at the same time I do
dark colors, it depends on my mood. That is my own kind of style.
So if you are not on radio, how do you relax?
I read books. I love to read and I
watch movies a lot. I’m hoping that I can direct a movie later on in
life. It’s one of my desires.
So would you like to start by acting?
Yes, I will act.
Is there anything in the works for now?
I’m still cooking. I’m working towards
a lot of auditions but because of my radio job, it is still very
difficult to be able to find time off. It’s not as if I haven’t had
offers but I haven’t been able to find time to do it because shooting a
movie takes time. That’s the challenge I’m having and I’m hoping that I
can surmount it at some point.
Once you start to take on television, acting and music, do you plan to quit radio?
I can’t quit radio just like that
because it’s what gave me the platform I have now. I’m always going to
radio even if I don’t do full time, I’m sure that I’m going to go
independent after some time.
